Young Blue Influencers Leading Environmental Change Across Greater Manchester:
Mersey Rivers Trust supporting a new initiative for young people funded by the Ernest Cook Trust and #iwill Fund
An ambitious initiative to improve the local river (“blue”) environment will be propelled by young people in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. The “Blue Influencers Scheme” will provide mentoring and funding for locals, aged 10 to 14, to become “Blue Influencers”.
The Mersey Rivers Trust is celebrating its selection as one of 22 charities to receive significant funding through this initiative, which aims to ignite a wave of youth-led environmental projects across the region. This includes the appointment of a Blue Mentor tasked with recruiting and supporting passionate young people to drive change in their community and local environment.
Ed Ikin, Chief Executive of The Ernest Cook Trust, said:
“Young people are often the most passionate about the environment and are very aware of the issues we face with climate change. The Blue Influencers Scheme will give them the funding, platform and tools they need to make positive changes to benefit their entire community.
“We were pleased to select the Mersey Rivers Trust to join the Blue Influencers Scheme and are excited to see just what the young people come up with.”
The national £2.25 million, three-year Blue Influencers Scheme, launched and match-funded by The Ernest Cook Trust in partnership with the #iwill Fund, focuses on empowering young people in coastal, estuary, and riverside areas to address environmental and climate challenges. Its ambition is to engage more than 4,000 young people as Blue Influencers, as well as over 15,000 community members across England.
The initiative builds on the success of the Green Influencers Scheme, shifting its focus to water-based environments while also aiming to enhance young people's personal, social and employability skills.
Luke Swann from the Mersey Rivers Trust spoke of the scheme's importance:
"Allowing young people to protect the environment on their own terms is essential. Being less conditioned by our unsustainable past and benefitting more from a sustainable future, they are best suited to drive change today. I can't wait to see the impact they will have once their environmental ideas and ambitions come into fruition."
If you work with young people aged 10 – 14 in Greater Manchester and would be interested in getting involved in this project, please get in touch with Luke Swann, Blue Mentor and Project Manager at Mersey Rivers Trust:
Email: luke@merseyrivers.org Phone: 07923 359 566
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